At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.2) the Deputies took note of the conclusions of the 4th multilateral consultation meeting on the implications for Council of Europe member states of the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Athens, 14-15 September 2006), as contained in document CM(2006)172 and decided to transmit them to the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) and to the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), so that they can take them into account in their work. They encouraged those Council of Europe member states that ha not yet done so to ratify, as soon as possible, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court and encouraged those Council of Europe member states that had concluded any international agreements which could run counter to the Rome Statute, to denounce them as soon as possible.

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.3a, b and c) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 1st meeting of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE, Moscow, 6 July 2006). They approved the terms of reference of the CCPE and approved the framework overall action plan for the work of the CCPE.

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.4) the Deputies approved the amended terms of reference of the Committee of Experts on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse (PC-ES), thereby extending the Committee’s terms of reference to 30 June 2007.

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.5) the Deputies adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1747 (2006) on a European prisons charter.

At the same meeting (Item 10.6) the Deputies adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1754 (2006) on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states.

At their 972nd meeting on 6 September (Item 10.3) the Deputies approved the amended terms of reference of the Committee of Experts on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse (PC-ES), as they appear at Appendix 23 to the present volume of Decisions, in order to allow the member state of which the chairman is a national to send a second delegate to represent that country's interests with the travel and subsistence expenses covered by the Council of Europe.

At their 969th meeting on 21 June (Item 10.2), the Deputies adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1713 (2005) on the democratic oversight of the security sector in member states.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.3b) the Deputies adopted Recommendation Rec(2006)8 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on assistance to crime victims, and took note of the Explanatory Memorandum to the recommendation.

At their 961stmeeting on 5 April (item 10.2), the Deputies adopted the supplementary reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1648 (2004) on the consequences of European Union enlargement for freedom of movement between Council of Europe member states, and the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1723 (2005) on forced marriages and child marriages (item 10.3).

At their 958th meeting on 15 March (item 10.4) the Deputies adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1714 (2005) on abolition of restrictions on the right to vote.

At their 952nd meeting on 11 January (item 10.2) the Deputies adopted Recommendation Rec(2006)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Prison Rules, and took note of the commentary to the European Prison Rules.

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.1b and c) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 32nd meeting of the CAHDI (Athens, 13-14 September 2006) and approved the specific terms of reference of the CAHDI.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.1) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 31st meeting of CAHDI. They welcomed the holding of the 4th multilateral consultation on the implications for Council of Europe member states of the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, following the 32nd meeting of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), in Athens, on 14 and 15 September 2006, thanks to the generous voluntary contributions by Finland and Switzerland;

At their 957th meeting on 1 March (item 10.4) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 6th meeting of the CCJE (Strasbourg, 23-25 November 2005). They took note therein of Opinion No. 7 (2005) of the CCJE on “Justice and Society”, and agreed to hear the Chairman of the CCJE on its completed and future work at one of their forthcoming meetings. They took note of the CCJE’s Observations No. 1 (2005) on the draft Action Plan for the follow-up to the opinions of the CCJE prepared by the CEPEJ.

At their 956th meeting on 15 February (item 10.1) the Deputies approved the terms of reference of the CCJE for 2006 2007.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.2) the Deputies , took note of the abridged report of the 81st meeting of the CDCJ. They adopted the terms of reference of the CDCJ, and took note of the opinions on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1729 (2005) on the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1732 (2006) on the integration of immigrant women in Europe. The Deputies welcomed the reply prepared by the CDCJ in accordance with the message from the Committee of Ministers to all committees involved in intergovernmental co operation, concerning the CDCJ’s contribution to the implementation of the Action Plan of the Third Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (Warsaw, 16-17 May 2005) and, in particular, its future priorities. They also welcomed the CDCJ’s reply, requested by the Committee of Ministers, to the Progress Report of the Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), and underlining the activities the CDCJ is willing to carry out in the context of supporting the fight against terrorism.

At their 952nd meeting on 11 January (item 10.1) the Deputies the specific terms of reference of the Group of Specialists on Seeking Legal Solutions to Debt Problems (CJ-S-DEBT).

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.7a) the Deputies approved the Activity Report 2005 of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). They took note of the abridged report of the 7th plenary meeting of the CEPEJ (Rome, 6-7 July 2006) (Item 10.7b). The Deputies welcomed the “Report on European judicial systems – Edition 2006” adopted by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ).

At their 953rd meeting on 18 January (item 10.3) the Deputies of the abridged report of the 6th plenary meeting of the CEPEJ (Strasbourg, 7-9 December 2005). They noted the importance of ensuring that the selection, collection and processing of relevant information for evaluating judicial systems in Europe are undertaken in a co-ordinated and structured way, making the best use of the expertise of the CEPEJ, and agreed to keep this in mind in the political discussions on the relationships between the Council of Europe and the European Union in accordance with the decisions taken by the Third Summit.

The Deputies took note of the CEPEJ’s medium-term activity programme as a key document for future work indicating its working methods and medium-term priorities, and of the CEPEJ’s programme of activities for 2006. They also noted the procedure laid down by the CEPEJ for its next exercise for evaluating European judicial systems, and of the “Checklist of indicators for the analysis of lengths of proceedings in the justice system” prepared by the CEPEJ, taking further note of the action plan prepared by the CEPEJ to the European Committee of Legal Co operation (CDCJ) on the implementation of the Opinions of the European Council of European Judges (CCJE). Finally, they took note of the report “Examination of problems related to the execution of decisions by national civil courts against the state and its bodies in the Russian Federation”.

Information on signatures and ratifications of treaties since 1 January 2001 is available on the Treaty Office's website on http://conventions.coe.int, where the file “recent changes” is updated following each of these acts.

It is recalled that the Treaty Office's website enables searches both as regards treaties and partial agreements regarding, inter alia, signatures ratifications, declarations, reservations, objections, etc., as well as by state, by treaty, by period, by subject matter as well as by nature of declaration.

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (item 10.6) the Deputies took note of the requests of Costa Rica and Mexico to be invited to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) and noted that the Committee of Ministers agreed in principle to granting these requests. They instructed the Secretariat to consult the non-member states Contracting States to the Convention, i.e. the United States of America, and set 26 January 2007 as the deadline for a reply. They agreed that, if there was no objection from the United States of America, the decisions to invite Costa Rica and Mexico to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) would be regarded as adopted on 31 January 2007 (985th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies). They agreed to resume consideration of this item if the United States of America raised an objection concerning the accession of Costa Rica and/or of Mexico to the Convention.

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.6) the Deputies took note of the requests of Costa Rica and Mexicoto be invited to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) and noted that the Committee of Ministers agreed in principle to granting these requests. They instructed the Secretariat to consult the non-member states which are Contracting States to the Convention, i.e. the United States of America, and set 26 January 2007 as the deadline for a reply, agreeing that if there was no objection from the United States of America, the decisions to invite Costa Rica and Mexico to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) would be regarded as adopted on 31 January 2007 (985th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies), and agreed to resume consideration of this item if the United States of America raised an objection concerning the accession of Costa Rica and/or of Mexico to the Convention.

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.8) the Deputies agreed that – in accordance with Article 13 of the Financial Regulations – the Secretary General may receive voluntary contributions from Microsoft for technical assistance activities aimed at supporting the implementation of the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) and its Additional Protocol on Xenophobia and Racism (ETS No. 189).

At their 972nd meeting on 6 September (Item 10.1) the Deputies took note of the request of Chile to be invited to accede to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (ETS No. 30) and noted that the member states Parties to the Convention unanimously agreed in principle to granting this request. They instructed the Secretariat to consult the non-member states which are Parties to the Convention, i.e. Israel and Montenegro, and set 3 November 2006 as the deadline for a reply, and agreed that if there was no objection from the non-member states consulted, the decision to invite Chile to accede to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (ETS No. 30) would be regarded as adopted on 8 November 2006 at their 979th meeting. Finally, the Deputies agreed to resume consideration of this item if the non-member states consulted raised an objection concerning the accession of Chile.

At their 958th meeting on 15 March (item 10.6) the Deputies adopted the Council of Europe Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to state succession and decided to open the Convention for signature on the occasion of the 116th Ministerial Session (Strasbourg, 18-19 May 2006). They also took note of the Explanatory Report to the Convention and of the comments made by the Secretariat on Parliamentary Assembly Opinion No. 258 on this subject.

At their 963rd meeting on 3 May (item 10.1b), the Deputies took note of the annual report of activities for 2005 of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission). At the same meeting (Item 10.1c) the Deputies agreed to accede to the request by the Republic of Korea to join the Enlarged Agreement establishing the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and invited the Republic of Korea to appoint a member to sit on the Commission.

At their 975th meeting on 11 October (Item 10.2) the Deputies, in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 1, of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, declared Dr Ranko BUGARSKI elected as a member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, in respect of Serbia, for a period of six years:

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.4a) the Deputies took note of the first report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Cyprus and adopted Recommendation RecChL(2006)3 on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by Cyprus. They went on to take note of the second report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Sweden, and adopted Recommendation RecChL(2006)4 on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by Sweden, agreeing to forward it to the Swedish authorities.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.5) the Deputies, in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 1, of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, declared Mr LAINIO Jarmo elected as a member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, in respect of Sweden, for a period of six years.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.6) the Deputies took note of the first report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Armenia and adopted Recommendation RecChL(2006)2 of the Committee of Ministers, agreeing to forward it to the Armenian authorities.

At their 957th meeting on 1 March (item 10.2) the Deputies took note of the second report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Germany, and adopted Recommendation RecChL(2006)1 on the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by Germany, agreeing to forward it to the German authorities. The Deputies also (item 10.1), in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 1, of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, declared Mr Alberto LOPEZ BASAGUREN elected as a member of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, in respect of Spain, for the remainder of the term of office of his predecessor, i.e. until 19 December 2007.

Refugees and asylum

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.8) the Deputies adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1727 (2005) on accelerated asylum procedures in Council of Europe member states, and adopted Decision No. CM/868/14062006, giving ad hoc terms of reference to the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH). They also (Item 10.9) adopted the reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1729 (2005) on the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

At their 961stmeeting on 5 April (item 10.1a), the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 56th meeting of the Ad hoc Committee of Experts on the Legal Aspects of Territorial Asylum, Refugees and Stateless Persons (CAHAR). They went on to adopt (Item 10.1b) Recommendation Rec(2006)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on internally displaced persons, and took note of the Explanatory Memorandum to the recommendation.

Bioethics

At their 975th meeting on 11 October (Item 10.1a and b) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 30th meeting of the CDBI (Strasbourg, 2-5 May 2006). They decided to resume consideration of the draft terms of reference of the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI), at one of their forthcoming meetings in the light of the decisions on the Programme of Activities for 2007.

At their 958th meeting on 15 March (item 10.1) the Deputies adopted Recommendation Rec(2006)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on research on biological materials of human origin and took note of the Explanatory Memorandum to the recommendation.

At their 969th meeting on 21 June (Item 10.1b), the Deputies took note of the 6th General Activity Report for 2005 of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) adopted at its 27th plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 6-10 March 2006).

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.2) the Deputies decided to continue their examination of the terms of reference of the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) at one of their forthcoming meetings in the light of the decisions on the Programme of Activities for 2007. They welcomed the CDPC’s reply, requested by the Committee of Ministers, to the Progress Report of the Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), underlining the activities the CDPC is willing to carry out in the context of supporting the fight against terrorism. The Deputies adopted Recommendation Rec(2006)13 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on remand in custody and took note of the Explanatory Memorandum to the recommendation. They took note of the CDPC’s decision on future work of the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PC-ES) and took note of the opinion of the CDPC on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1747 (2006) on a European prisons charter.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.3a) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 51st meeting of the CDPC. They adopted the terms of reference of the Council for penological co-operation (PC-CP), of the Council for police matters (PC-PM) and of the Committee of Experts on the operation of European conventions in the legal field (PC-OC). The Deputies welcomed the reply, prepared by the CDPC in accordance with the message from the Committee of Ministers to all committees involved in intergovernmental co operation, concerning the CDPC’s contribution to the implementation of the Action Plan of the Third Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (Warsaw, 16-17 May 2005) and, in particular, its future priorities.

At their 959th meeting on 22 March (item 10.1) the Deputies approved the terms of reference of the Committee of experts on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse (PC-ES).

At their 957th meeting on 1 March (item 10.3) the Deputies took note of the invitation by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) to all FATF style regional bodies (FSRBs), including MONEYVAL, to apply for associate membership of FATF and authorised the Secretary General to make such an application on behalf of the Council of Europe.

At their 953rd meeting on 18 January (item 10.4) the Deputies took note of the request from Kazakhstan to be invited to accede to the Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime (ETS No. 141) and noted that there was agreement in principle within the Committee of Ministers to give a positive reply to this request. They instructed the Secretariat to consult Australia on the request by Kazakhstan to be invited to accede to the said Convention and to set a deadline of 31 March 2006 for the reply, agreeing that, in the absence of any objections from Australia, the decision to invite Kazakhstan to accede to the Convention would be considered as adopted on 31 March 2006. The Deputies agreed to resume consideration of this item only in the event that Australia formulates any objections with respect to Kazakhstan’s accession.

At the same meeting (item 10.1) the Deputies accepted the request by Israel to take part in MONEYVAL’s mutual evaluation process as an active observer. They adopted the revised specific terms of reference of MONEYVAL and invited the Secretary General to inform the Israeli authorities accordingly, inviting them to make a voluntary financial contribution to the functioning of MONEYVAL.

At their 967th meeting on 14 June (Item 10.4) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 1st meeting of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) (Strasbourg, 20-21 March 2006).

At their 962nd meeting on 26 April (item 10.1) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 22nd plenary meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No. 108) (T-PD) (Strasbourg, 8-10 March 2006). In this context, they agreed on a Council of Europe Data Protection Day to be held each year during the last week of January, and instructed the T-PD to prepare a draft organisational charter for the Council of Europe Data Protection Day on the basis of the proposal set out in Appendix 2 of the abridged report.

Committee of Advisers for the development of transfrontier co-operation in Central and Eastern Europe

At their 958th meeting on 15 March (item 10.8) the Deputies, having held an exchange of views on the basis of the 5th annual report of the Committee of Advisers for the development of transfrontier co-operation in Central and Eastern Europe, with the participation of Mrs Judy Rosemary Batt, member of the said Committee. They noted with satisfaction the activities implemented in 2005, which had contributed in particular to a greater awareness and wider acceptance by member states of the legal instruments of the Council of Europe in the field of transfrontier co-operation. The Deputies also noted in particular the good level of co-operation established between the Council of Europe and the European Union, especially as regards the respective legal instruments for the development of cross-border co-operation.

At the same meeting (item 10.7) the Deputies took note of the request of Mexico to be invited to accede to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (ETS No. 112) and noted that the Committee of Ministers agreed in principle to granting this request. Thy instructed the Secretariat to consult the non-member states which are Contracting States to the Convention, namely Australia, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mauritius, Panama, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America and Venezuela, and set 10 May 2006 as the deadline for a reply. The Deputies agreed that if there was no objection from the non-member states consulted, the decision to invite Mexico to accede to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (ETS No. 112) would be regarded as adopted on 24 May 2006, at their 965th meeting. They agreed to resume consideration of this item if the non-member states consulted raised an objection concerning the accession of Mexico.

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.3) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 37th meeting of the CDLR (Strasbourg, 15-17 May 2006). They decided to resume consideration of the terms of reference of the CDLR at one of their forthcoming meetings in the light of the decisions on the Programme of Activities for 2007, and invited their Working Group on Institutional Reforms (GT-REF.INST) to take into account the CDLR’s proposals concerning quorums for subordinate committees and the distribution of documents, as expressed in paragraphs 2 and 5 of the abridged report, when conducting its examination of committee structures and their functioning in the context of Chapter V of the Third Summit Action Plan.

At their 953rd meeting on 18 January (item 10.2) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the CDLR’s 36th meeting (Strasbourg, 14-16 November 2005). They approved the specific terms of reference of the following subordinate committees of the CDLR:

- Committee of Experts on Transfrontier Co-operation (LR-CT),

- Committee of Experts on finance and public services at local and regional level (LR-FL),

- Committee of Experts on democratic participation and public ethics at local and regional level (LR-DP),

- Committee of Experts on the legal framework and institutional structure of local and regional government (LR-FS);

The Deputies agreed to grant a derogation to article 12.e of Appendix I to Resolution Res(2005)47 on the rules of procedure for the Council of Europe committees as regards the election for a third term of office of the Chair of the LR-CT. They went on to take note of the CDLR’s comments on the proposals by the Venice Commission to amend its Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, and agreed to forward them to the Venice Commission.

Finally, the Deputies took note of the CDLR’s comments on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1714 (2005) on the abolition of restrictions on the right to vote, Congress Recommendation 162 (2005) on the revision of the Charter of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Congress Recommendation 164 (2005) on local and regional democracy in Denmark, Congress Recommendation 167 (2005) on the 5th Forum of cities and Regions of South-East Europe (Budva, Serbia and Montenegro, 11-12 October 2004), Congress Recommendation 170 (2005) on inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue: initiatives and responsibilities of local authorities, and took note of the comments by the Congress on the opinion of the CDLR on Recommendation 162 (2005).

At their 981st meeting on 29 November (Item 10.7) the Deputies took note of the summary of the Joint OSCE-Council of Europe Expert Workshop on Preventing Terrorism: Fighting Incitement and Related Terrorist Activities (Vienna, 19-20 October 2006), as contained in document CM(2006)204 rev, and transmitted it to the Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH), the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS), the Steering Committee for Education (CDED) and the Steering Committee for Culture (CDCULT), to be taken into account in their work and to report back. They agreed to resume consideration of the follow-up to be given to the above-mentioned workshop in the light of the proposals to be made by CODEXTER.

At their 974th meeting on 27 September (Item 10.1a) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 10th meeting of CODEXTER (Strasbourg, 19-21 June 2006). They welcomed the conclusions of the thematic review on the implementation of Council of Europe conventions against terrorism made by the CODEXTER and in particular the fact that the ratification threshold for the entry into force of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism is expected to be reached by the end of the year, taking into account the target date set by the Committee of Ministers. They reiterated their call for member states to ratify the Council of Europe conventions against terrorism as rapidly as possible with a view to promoting their early entry into force and effective implementation.

At the same meeting (Item 10.1b) the Deputies took note of the information provided on the state of implementation of the decision 953/10.5b on the fight against terrorism and instructed their Rapporteur Group on Legal Co operation (GR-J) to proceed with its work.

At their 953rd meeting on 18 January (item 10.5a) the Deputies took note of the abridged report of the 9th meeting of the Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER) (Strasbourg, 8-10 November 2005), and approved the specific terms of reference for this committee.

At the same meeting (item 10.5b) the Deputies took note of the progress report on future priority areas for the work of the Council of Europe in the fight against terrorism and decided to transmit it to the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), the Steering Commitee for Human Rights (CDDH), the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS), the Steering Committee for Education (CDED) and the Steering Committee for Culture (CDCULT) asking them to take it into account in their work and to report back. They agreed to return to the report at a later stage on the basis of additional information, in particular the reports requested from the relevant committees and on the basis of proposals including draft terms of reference that their Rapporteur Group on Legal Co-operation (GR-J) is invited to make on the basis of drafts prepared by the Secretariat.